Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
hello from hot hot Kuala Lumpur!
We arrived here on Friday on a "super vip" coach, which really was very spacious and comfy, for about 6 pounds. Our last day in Singapore we spent sightseeing - we saw Raffles Hotel, the Merlion Statue, City Hall, the Sri Mariamman Temple (the oldest in Singapore), amongst other things. Really like Singapore - it's big, clean, quite spacious, and 'user-friendly'. On our last night we went to the night safari where we saw a cultural show which included fire-breathing, an animal show, and then caught the tram round the park and saw various "creatures of the night", it was really enjoyable, very atmospheric!
Our hostel in Kuala Lumpur is in Chinatown and it's small and basic, pretty shabby but cute, the owners are friendly and have done their best with what they have! We've had 2 days here and it's definitely been more than enough. Yesterday we joined the early morning queue for the free first-come, first-served tickets up the Petronus towers (the tallest twin-towers in the world at 452 metres) and went up to the skybridge for views of the city (this is about halfway up the towers - which was plenty high enough!). Our attempt to go to the National History Museum was thwarted when we were told by the man on the door that it was "close - for ever", but we saw Merdeka Square which is the traditional centre of KL, home to the flagpole where the British Flag was last lowered and symbolising Malay independence.
Today we took a (hot and sticky) walk around the area containing the national monument, national mosque, national museum (which was closed! - another attempt at culture thwarted), and parks including a bird park and lake park. We've visited the Chinatown night market both nights - it's huge, packed, and full of stallkeepers desperate for you to buy their goods! things start cheap and then you barter them down - i should be pro by Bangkok, where I plan to shop a lot!
Overall though as a western traveller I've not had a great impression of KL. Tonight we catch an overnight train up and into Thailand - 15 hours, my longest journey ever - but we've a sleeper carriadge so I'm hoping to sleep at least half of it. Looking forward to getting out of KL and to some much needed beach time!
Thinking of home! ttfn... xxx
- comments